Donors
Greater Impact Strategies
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Developing Your Own Charitable Strategies
Donors should consider developing a charitable giving strategy to improve the positive impact they will make on society through their giving. Like anything else worthwhile in life, it generally takes hard work and a basic plan to successfully achieve desired results. It is our sincere belief that donors can accomplish a great deal more “good” if they develop an effective strategy to achieve their desired charitable or societal results. With that general premise in mind, we will provide an overview of important decision points and strategy options for donors to consider in designing their strategy for making a more positive impact on society through their giving.
Establishing Your Charitable Focus and Objectives
1. Overall Mission:
The priorities of your charitable giving need to be determined in order to develop the interventions necessary to make a more measurable difference relative to the charitable purposes established.
It is very important to focus your giving in order to track and measure the effectiveness of your efforts.
2. Charitable areas of interest:
We recommend donors focus their giving in order to design specific, highly-effective strategies which make a greater and more measurable impact on society.
3. What would you like to achieve in each area of charitable interest?
You need to describe with clarity what you would like your charitable giving to accomplish in order to develop plans to achieve your objectives. Donor self-fulfillment and satisfaction will be much greater when charitable goals are actually realized. What “measures of success” can you use to measure progress?
4. Define your geographic areas of focus?
It is important to articulate the locations where your charitable giving will have its major impact. Certain locations designated by donors possess greater nonprofit capacity than others. Often a larger charitable budget allows donors to cover a greater geographic scope.
5. Do you have any favorite charitable organizations?
Many donors maintain strong long-term relationships with nonprofit organizations. Donors should consider using their ongoing relationships in ways which help the organizations dramatically improve their outcomes.
Establishing Charitable Strategies to Maximize Your Societal Impact
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Are there specific ways to help nonprofits serve more people, improve the outcomes of their services, or otherwise operate more efficiently?
Donors should meet with nonprofit administrators, board members, and community members to begin a discussion of ways to build the capacity of the organizations to improve outcomes.
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Have you thought about other donors that may be interested in partnering with you to make a difference?
One important way for a donor to leverage their impact is through forging alliances with other charitably inclined donors that may share similar interests.
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Have you thought about involving other professional resources in the field that may help improve the impact of your giving, such as foundations, attorneys, accountants, investment advisors, nonprofit CEOs, scientists, physicians, teachers or other subject matter experts?
Don’t be shy with involving highly skilled professionals in your charitable giving decisions and strategy implementation. Carefully select your winning team members to achieve greater success.
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What level of involvement will you, your family members, or your trusted advisors have in your charitable giving?
Informing and including those closest to you in your charitable planning is a great way to ensure your vision is fully realized.
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What level of visibility do you wish to have with your charitable giving?
Since charitable giving is a highly personal endeavor, choosing the appropriate level of your visibility will affect the strategies you choose to employ.
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It may be beneficial to review the results of your charitable giving on a regular basis in order to make necessary changes in your approach to continually improve your impact. Are you comfortable with reviewing the impact of your giving and making necessary adjustments on at least an annual basis?
Times change. Needs change. Reviewing your success on a consistent basis will help you adapt to changing times and needs.
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Have you planned your financial affairs so you generally understand what your charitable giving budget should be on an annual basis?
Charitable plans are most efficient when integrated with your annual financial and estate plans.
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Is your estate planned with a structure that prevents payment of avoidable estate taxes?
A well-designed charitable plan integrates with your financial and estate plans creating a tax-efficient strategy that may provide you with more spendable income during your lifetime while generating more wealth transfer to family and nonprofits; and less to government at your death.
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Recognizing that this exercise is designed to briefly engage you to become more Impactful in your charitable giving, are there other issues not covered above that may have an effect or should be considered relative to your giving strategy?
This exercise is just the beginning. There may be several more issues specific to your charitable strategy which must be considered. Impact Foundation is prepared to assist you. Please email Pat Traynor - pattraynor@dakmed.org or call us at 701-271-0263 for more information about developing your own charitable strategy to create the societal impact you desire.
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